Should you pack your IPad instead of your Passport?
Posted: Wednesday 11 January 2012
Following the BBC news report that a Canadian managed to pass through US border control using his iPad instead of a passport http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16403636, Morton Fraser’s immigration expert, Jamie Kerr, ponders whether it would be possible to enter the United Kingdom armed with just an iPad:
"On reading this article on my Blackberry on the way to work (no, I don’t have an iPad), I was left wondering whether one could pass through UK border control/Customs without a passport. For example, if I were on holiday and managed to lose my passport, would I be able to copy the Canadian in this news article and use a scanned copy on my Blackberry, iPhone or iPad to gain entry into the UK?
Although this is a scenario to be avoided at all costs, I think that the answer is that I could.
The starting point is that all passengers arriving in the UK are required to produce a valid passport containing a photograph, should they be asked to do so. However, under paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 2 of the Immigration Act 1971, it is possible to produce some other document which satisfactorily establishes identity and nationality.
British holidaymakers whose passports are lost or stolen whilst they are abroad are expected to apply for a new passport from the local British Embassy/British Consulate in the country that they are in. If however a British holidaymaker skips this step and manages to board a plane or ferry and turns up at the UK border, then after completion of some paperwork, immigration will take verification steps to satisfy themselves that the passenger is indeed British and therefore ought to be permitted to proceed through immigration control. This route could prove unusual as there are now restrictions on carriers/airlines who allow undocumented persons to travel, so it could prove difficult to board a plane or a ferry without a passport.
For European passengers who arrive without a travel document, the law states that they ought to be given a “reasonable opportunity” to demonstrate their identity and their European nationality.
One method of satisfying immigration as to one’s nationality and identity could very well be to produce an electronic copy of the lost/stolen passport on an iPad (or a Blackberry, iPhone, laptop, etc). If this satisfies the Immigration Officers, then you can enter the UK. As an aside, it is always good practice to have a colour copy of your passport certified as a true copy, and then keep a scanned copy in an email account. This could prove invaluable in dealings with the authorities at home or abroad in the event of the passport being lost or stolen.
So what is the conclusion? Well, although it’s possible to enter the UK without a passport and instead travel with just a suitcase and an iPad, I certainly would not want to be behind the person who tries this in the queue at Customs.
For further information or advice, please contact Immigration expert Jamie Kerr on 0141 274 1103 or jamie.kerr@morton-fraser.com
